With two minutes left in a surprisingly lopsided Celtics win, Marcus Smart set his sights on Ben Simmons.

Charging toward the 76ers star, Smart seared with enough anger that Boston assistant coach Jay Larranaga hopped off the bench to offer a few calming words. But Smart felt the urge to send Simmons one last message before the night ended.

“He kind of threw a little shot at me,” Smart said. “I just told him I wasn’t accepting that.”

Through elbows, injuries and whatever else, the Celtics refuse to accept misfortune as their story. They were doubted when Gordon Hayward snapped his ankle on opening night and dismissed when Kyrie Irving underwent season-ending knee surgery. Hardly anybody considered the Celtics a favorite entering this second-round series with the 76ers, and that was before the team announced Jaylen Brown (hamstring) would miss Game 1. Without Brown, Boston had one less body to throw at superstar rookie Ben Simmons, one less athletic...